Tobacco settlement oversight panel sets work plan to study vaping taxes, enforcement and funding variability

Representative Joanne Ferrary, chair of the Tobacco Settlement Revenue Oversight Committee, opened the committee’s interim session and presented a proposed work plan that will prioritize agency updates, vaping tax policy and enforcement, and a review of settlement receipts.

The committee will request reports from the Department of Health on the Nicotine Use Prevention and Control program (NUPAC); from the Regulation and Licensing Department on retail licensing and enforcement against counterfeit or black‑market vaping products; and from the Office of the Attorney General/State Department of Justice about how ongoing litigation with participating manufacturers affects annual settlement payments.

“If you’ll look, we have the proposed work plan and some of the ideas that people have already, what we've done before, what we wanted to add,” Ferrary said as she described the committee’s statutory duties and planned agenda. The committee aims to prepare recommendations, including potential legislation, for the Legislative Finance Committee based on program evaluations.

Representative Liz Thompson told the committee that raising nicotine taxes remains central to youth prevention. “The one thing that will keep youth from starting use is price,” Thompson said. She urged study of tax policy and packaging as deterrents and noted the committee’s role in aligning settlement revenues with budget planning through the Legislative Finance Committee and House Appropriations.

Committee members discussed how payments from the tobacco settlement vary year to year because of ongoing litigation with participating manufacturers dating back to 2006. A committee member described the payments as “a mess” because manufacturers dispute accounting and state collection methods. The panel was told the Tobacco Settlement Fund had at times been used for general fund purposes and that the general fund still “owes the tobacco settlement fund millions of dollars,” a point raised during committee discussion.

Members also flagged implementation questions about Medicaid tobacco‑cessation services. The panel heard that some managed care organizations (MCOs) have been referring members to the state quit line rather than providing cessation services directly, which can result in service gaps when quit‑line resources are exhausted. The committee directed staff to invite the Medicaid director and MCO representatives to report on monitoring and compliance.

Representative Britney Barreras raised concerns about counterfeit vaping products and their role in youth access. “Tax would have no effect because they're actually making them,” Barreras said, urging the committee to study the scale of black‑market manufacturing and criminal enforcement options. The chair said the Regulation and Licensing Department will be asked to brief the committee on enforcement capabilities and black‑market activity.

Public comment included a brief statement from Linnea Montoya of the University of New Mexico offering to host the committee’s August meeting at UNM’s cancer center: “We look forward to hosting you on August 15.” A disability and health‑care advocate who identified herself as Nadine urged better promotional materials for prevention and broader cessation options beyond Medicaid. “The promotional materials need to be more attractive,” Nadine said, and recommended reducing stigma around quitting.

The committee set tentative interim meeting dates of July 7 and Aug. 15 and agreed to request an additional date in November as a backup. Members agreed to plan the Aug. 15 meeting in Albuquerque and to seek presentations grouped by topic (for example, youth prevention with the Department of Health and enforcement with Regulation and Licensing). The committee asked staff to gather background materials in advance, including prior settlement reports and any Taxation and Revenue or Attorney General data on black‑market sales or compliance.

No formal motions or votes were recorded during the organizational meeting. The committee staff on record are Sean Dolan, staff attorney, and Andrea Lazaro, who will assist with committee work.